Stupid Feminists

So the topic this week in my Research Methodologies class is Feminist Epistemology's and standpoint epistemologies. Now I was as clueless as ever started to do my reading but pretty soon I remembered why I get so irritated at feminism. Now I have realised that the fact that i get irrationally hostile to the whole thing maybe be some musculine self-defense method but something about it just really bugs me. I keep thinking that an entire branch of anything being devoted to why 50% of the population is better than the other is not very fair. And thats the vibe I pick up from it, not 'we are women, we are different' which I fully agree with and think should be investigated but instead 'we are women, our way is better'. For instant the piece I am reading at the minute is talking about several theorist views on the Scientific Method and why is is so masculine-based. Now the scientific method is, in my opinion, as neutral as possible, it strives to have no values whatsoever and deal only with hypothesis, antithesis, stc. Now what these feminist theorists were saying that all this would be rendered obsolete once the........to be honest I am not sure about what she was saying but the general just was that women can have periods and abortions and that in the face of this the way we think about biology today should be changed. I can get ye the quote later. Or another was talking about how women have to deny being women in order to survive in a lab.

I have actually stopped readinto be honest. Now I have to be fair and say that the editor of the Chapter, a feminist herself did point out that a weakness in these theorists was that while they talked about how the need for for a change in the way we see science is necessary they could not give any concrete examples, which is in itself a pretty damning indictment for how they think of science.

Its not just these particular things that annoy me, its the idea that I feel that I cant be irritated by them because i am just a man and 'I would not understand'. Perhaps that is true but in that case dont expect me to want to or even try to.

On the demon drink

So i have discovered something about me and drink. I can usually drink as much as I want and not get a hang-over, I might feel tired but I don't get headaches, or nausea or furry tongue. Instead I just find myself really fucking down for days afterwards. I know this at this stage so I just ignore it and get on with stuff. Tonight was the exception though, I had a presentation today that I felt went pretty badly, then I skipped capoeira, and did not get to finish my reading for tomorrow or the essay I was working on. I went to bed early because I was still shattered from the weekend of drinking and studying. That was nearly three hours ago, my head is just so full with shit that i cant turn it off and so cant sleep. What makes it worse is that I have class early tomorrow morning and I know I will be just a wreck for it. Hopefully this being up will get me tired enough to drop off, not holding out much hope though.

The 1st Presidential Debate in 90 Seconds

This is not the Palin/Biden debate but the Obama/McCain Debate that went on last week. The graph thing along the bottom is some new-fangled thing where people pretty much just pick if they are being swayed or not.

Presidential Debate in 90 Seconds

Debate (part 1)

Just a quick run-down of the Vice-Presidential debate. I am writing this in real time as I hear it so, while i will run a spell check at the end, dont expect much from the formatting, grammar or style front.


Introduction

• Palin starts by sounding idiotic 'Hi, can I call you Joe?'
• Biden says that they will have to slow down the proposed doubling of foreign aid.
• Palin actually comes out and says she will not answer the questions the moderator or Biden says and say her own thing, which seems to revolve about her talking about Alaska the whole time.
• She wont stop talking about her history with energy stuff, pity what her future plans are rubbish.

Climate & Social Change

• She has managed to mention hockey moms and six-pack Joes int he first ten minutes
• She has just denied climate change being man-made, then said she does not want to argue about the cause.
• Biden: It is completely man-made.
• They both support capping carbon emission.
• Biden: Completely support constitutional and legal equal rights and benefits for safe-sex couples.
  
• Palin: She is for it as long as it does not affect the definition of marriage as between man & women, but is otherwise very 'tolerant'.
• Biden: He say he agrees with her in relation to marriage definition.

Iraq

• Palin: The surge has worked in Iraq, we do not need to leave early.
• Biden: Have a structured withdrawal in the next 16 months and give power back to the Iraqis. A timeline is needed, let Iraq spend its own money.
• Palin: Democrats plan is a white flag.

Iran & Pakistan

• Biden: Pakistan is nearly more dangerous than Iran as it already has nuclear weapons. Mccain's focus on Iraq instead of the taliban and Afghanistan is a huge mistake.
• Palin says that the central war on Terror is in Iraq. Iran cannot be allowed to get nuclear weapons. Obama is naive for agreeing to meet with Iranian leaders without pre-conditions.
• Palin: Dropped that she had a conversation with Kissenger last week. TERRORIST HATES AMERICA AND FREEDOM.
• Biden: we have to listen to our allies and 5 past Secretaries of state and talk to their enemies, McCain say he is willing to negotiate but not sit down. Ha, brought up the fact that McCain said he would not sit down with the Spanish government

Israel

• Palin: A 2-state solution is the right one is Israel/Palestine. This is a top policy and they will support Israel, the 'peace-keeping' nation. they will build their embassy in Jerusalem.
• Biden: A passionate supporter of Israel. Bush's administration has been an abject failure in the Middle East. He neglects to mention the Jerusalem thing.
  
• Palin: There has been huge blunders by the Administration but we must not dwell on them.
• Biden: None of McCain's policies are nowhere different than Bush's
  

Maverick Count: 4

When is it okay to Nuke:

• We must just not allow rogue states to get nukes. America will use theirs as a deterrent. ON a side note, a surge is needed in Afghanistan
• (TV loses station for a few minutes, how annoying)
• Biden: McCain is against any arms control.

Intervention:

• Biden: Very pro-intervention. Voted for the war in Iraq but said he was misleaded. Mentioned about seeing the camps in Chad and Darfur himself.
• Palin: I'm a straight-shooting, straight-talking Washington outsider. Saying Biden is all over the place. She agrees that Darfur needs a no-fly zone and intervention. Mentions fricking Alaska again. That is actually pretty clever, making her Alaska experience actually seem like it has something to do with Sudan
  

Debate (part 2)

What would it be like if they were President:

• He would stick to helping the middle class. And an energy policy that is greener and makes 5 million new jobs. To finish the Iraq war and find Osama. Get rid of the Bush Doctrine and replace with it preventative rather than preemptive
• Palin: We are a team of mavericks and we don't agree with everything. She is going to keep trying to convince him on the benefits of a gas line. Needs some Alaska common-sense in Washington. Continue to reduce bureaucracy and the big government.

(I think she just mentioned Biden's dead wife, and then gave a shout-out to 3rd graders in Alaska)

What does the Vice-President Mean?

• They make a joke
• Palin: the vice-president could nearly use more power. She would deal with Energy dependance, Special needs children, and reducing government spending
• Biden: He would get things done legislating. His portfolio would to be an independent consultant to barak and would be working in governance.
• Biden: Cheney has been the most dangerous vice-president in history. He works in the executive branch and should understand that. They should only interfere in the constitution when there is a vote and they should definitely not be part of the legislative vote.

Conventional Wisdom-Palin does not have experience; Biden needs more discipline
What is your Achilles heel?

• Her connection to the heartland to America, being a mom, having a son in the Iraq, her husband and how they know what other Americans are going through. Her world view that America is to be a shining example of exceptionalism. America represents a perfect ideal.
• Biden: his record of independent thinking is a good point. He will bring change. He understands what it is to be like a single parent when his wife and daughters died. Is insulted that he does not understand just cuz he is a man. Actually gets a bit weepy.

Maverick Count: 8

• Biden: Mccain is not a maverick in ways that effect normal people.
  

One time you had to change your mind

• Biden: Used to think that the only important thing was that a nominee had to be a good student, have no skeletons. He mentioned Roe Vs Wade, did not hear what he said.
• Palin: Sometimes she should have vetoed certain budgets and she should not have caved. Up in Alaska we worked together and that is what she will do.

How does a VP encourage bi-partisanship

• Biden: He has never questioned any ones motives on the other side, just their judgement and that is what he would bring.
• Palin: Would hire and use people from all sides of the fence.

Closing statements:

• She likes answering tough questions with out the mainstream media interfering. They will fight for America, the average middle-class family like hers. They have to fight for their freedoms, economic and national security. Talks about Fighting an awful lot.
• Biden: This is the most important vote of people life. The last 8 years have been terrible and change is needed. Mentioned that he is sending a son to Iraq, as is McCain. Time for America to get up together. May God Protect our troops.
  

Winter is a comin'

Ye Gods its cold out. Just back from work there, you will be glad to hear the cycle is getting better. Its trés cold out though, there was hailstones this afternoon and apparently we have had the coldest September in years. I am still sweating like a nun in a sack though.

So i have decided to bite the bullet, get a bit organised and buy me a computer. Thanks to the wonder that is a loan I have gotten my resident techie so do some research and find me a nice desktop PC. Thing is though, peripherals like a mouse, keyboard or monitor is included. I had the great idea though of getting these off Ebay. Very excited I am, never used it before. Managed to find a monitor on it that is around a third of the price of the shops, and that's including delivery so hopefully I will win that particular auction.

College is going alright, got a bit back into the studying. I have a presentation on Monday and although keeping at it is slow going once I do get going the old bull-shit is just flowing out of me. I really have to get cracking on my thesis though, if even just to get an idea in my head. Was in a lecture on Tuesday about the Politics and Political Economy of Development, going through the liberalisation of trade during the 80's and how the World Bank, WTO and IMF have perhaps been doing more harm than good. Now the thing about the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank in particular is that they were set up for the express purpose of helping less developed countries get more like our great white countries but somewhere along the lines they fucked up. SO I was thinking that perhaps I will maybe look at where they are at the minute and how in the future they can get back to basics. An incredibly broad kind of idea but i will just work from there and hopefully meander into something related that i will find interesting. If ye have any ideas or suggestions let me know.

Random Web-site of the Day: Interesting Graph: Us Europeans Are Not as Clever as We Think